Kevin

Alternatives to Commitment |

Kevin was 15 when he came to Methodist Home for Children through the Alternatives to Commitment program in August 2011. Earlier in the year, he and friends had stolen a gun and robbed at gunpoint two employees of a Goldsboro restaurant as they took out garbage. As a result, Kevin was facing some very serious charges and possible juvenile detention, but a judge decided instead that he would be a good candidate for Alternatives to Commitment.

The Alternatives to Commitment program helps troubled youth and their families with community-based counseling rather than detention. Kevin was admitted to the program because he had a stable home and an active father, although the two had virtually no relationship at the time. Most of their interactions were brief and confrontational. But that changed once father and son began working with an MHC family preservation specialist.

After seven months of in-home counseling and regular school checkups, Kevin is out of the program and passing all of his classes. He recently interviewed for his first job and got permission to re-join his high school football team. He plans to attend college or enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps. Kevin and his father can now laugh when they talk about how far they’ve come together. They’re both committed to change and have invested a lot of hard work and trust in each other.